Managing a vast array of assets on a large college campus poses many challenges and
requires extensive paperwork, communication, and coordination between different offices. In
this research, we have developed a WebGIS based facilities management system to help
optimize management functions including visualizing the campus assets and resources
consumption across campus as well as identify problem areas to address the issues
promptly. Existing data in AutoCAD format from the Facilities office was imported,
georeferenced, and combined with other sources of spatial data. Energy usage from various
meters across campus buildings were acquired to study the temporal variability in energy use
over hourly, daily, and monthly scales. In order to make the data comparable across buildings
of various sizes and functions, energy use was normalized using the heated square footage of
the individual buildings. Analysis energy use shows that Furman's Chapel is unique in being
the highest energy consuming building (twice that of the second highest building per unit
area). Energy consumption at the Chapel seem to be negatively related to the outside
temperature, indicating that higher amount of energy is needed to heat the building during
winter than cool the building during the summer months. The ability to visualize any changes in
energy consumption patterns or location of consistent problem areas can help track down
potential hidden problems related to utility network or deferred maintenance. The WebGIS
based Asset Map developed through this project will help improve the efficiency of operations
and in decision making process at Furman University.